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BASEBALL SPORTS OF ALL SORTS BOXING
LES. DARCY NO WORSE THAN
MANY AMERICAN FIGHTERS
By Mark Shields
While Les Darcy was far away
from our city some sport writers
were panning him and emphasizing
the fact that the Australian middle
weight champion had not engaged in
a fight since coming to this country.
They were belittling his standing in
the fistic world and inquiring why
he did not come out and fight some
of the people df his weight
But now that the Antipodean has
arrived here he is billed as a regu
lar fighter, a remarkable piece of
fighting machinery. That is probar
bly because there is chance to match
him with Mike Gibbons or some
other good man for a fight in Mil
waukee, and it would not be good
form to crab the proposed show.
Darcy is deserving of no especial
criticism. He has been in this coun
try only a short time, and, judging
him on the record of some of our
own fighters, men bearing champion
ship labels, he is no worse than they
are. No so bad, in fact.
Darcy has picked Al McCoy as his
first opponent True, he selected a
fairly easy antagonist and one he
should have little difliiculty in pol
ishing off. But some of our Ameri
can fighters have not been averse to
picking lemons when there was a
chance to pack the box office.
"Here in our own city lives Jess
Willard, heavyweight champion, who
has fought ten rounds since winning
the title something like two years
aga Admittedly there are no pow
erful opponents for the big feHow,
but one or two men fighting in the
heavyweight division might give him
an argument
Mr. Darcy is also bumped because
of his purse demands. Compared to
me of our American fighters, Les
i tyro when it comes to finances.
We rememher that Willard received
nearly 50,000 for his ten rounds
against Moran, and Darcy, though a
smaller man, is undoubtedly a bet
ter fighter pound for pound than
Jess.
Undoubtedly much of this criti-
cism of Darcy through the country
has been designed to get him into
matches with good American fight
ers. He should fight them, of course,
and undoubtedly will after he has
capitalized his reputation.
The ordinary sportsmanlike view
is that a fighter should 'fight, but
sportsmanship has taken a back seat
lately) in favor of the financiers, and
Darcy is not as bad in this respect
as some other people.
Announcement by Pres. Weegh
man that 27 Cubs have signed 1917
contracts can mean only that some
fellows are coming into the fold se
cretly and against the orders of the
Baseball Players' Fraternity. A few
days ago Weeghman has but 14 men
lined up. The training season is
only two weeks away, and the lure of
the diamond was apparently too
much for some of the fellows who
like the game.
It is positively asserted at Cub
headquarters that Max Flack, right
fielder, has signed.1 Fultz said Flack
had not signed, after receiving word
from Chicago that his contract was
in. Scott Perry, a recruit pitcher,
mailed in his contract yesterday.
Perry had a few chances last fall
after coming to the club and seems
to be a young man of ability. He will
be taken in hand by Manager Mit
chell from the first day and the new
pilot will seek to make a regular of
him.
Mitchell must find at least-one man
among his rookies capable of taking
a regular turn in the box. Vaughn,
of course, will do his own work and
part of some other fellow's. Hen
drix should also be right, and great
things are expected from Mike Pren-
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